Mother of the Bride, have you started keeping your eyes peeled for wedding day photo ideas? As soon as you heard your little girl was going to become a bride, I bet you started noticing anything and everything wedding-related, photo ideas included. Might as well start a list to share with the bride, right?

The photo above—the bride and groom making a heart out of their hands—is a super sweet shot your darling daughter might want to suggest to their photographer.

This shot not only exudes romance and the couple’s unified love, it showcases a portion of their wedding attire as well. To top it off, it’s an appealing photo simply because of its centered and symmetrical composition and the contrasting colors featured. In other words, a perfect photo!

So MOB, why not show this idea to your daughter? I’m willing to bet she’ll love it. Plus, she’ll enjoy a few extra minutes of being wrapped in her groom’s arms!

*Have you subscribed to Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue? If not, sign-up is FREE and to the right! (If you’re on a mobile device, just scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find it.)

Mother of the Bride, many photographers include a bridal portrait session in the price of their services. These sessions are often scheduled for a date before the wedding, but some perfect portraits of the bride alone can also be taken on the wedding day. Your photographer will certainly have some amazing ideas for some great shots, but you can also be thinking of ideas if you’re familiar with the wedding or bridal portrait venue.

If your daughter’s wedding or bridal portrait venue has a fancy sofa on the premises, the photographer can capture a stunning shot of your gorgeous daughter in all her bridal glory. Just have her sit on one end of the sofa and extend her legs toward the other end with her gown cascading to the side. Believe me, it will be absolute perfection, especially if the sofa is white or ivory. Different moods can also be captured with the photographer’s suggestions to the bride.

If this will work in your situation, MOB, share this idea with your sweet girl and see she what she thinks. Bet she’ll love it—and will welcome putting her feet up for awhile during the photo session!

The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early February. One lucky subscriber (new or current) will receive $15 gift card to Starbucks and a signed copy of my book to use personally, give as a gift, or donate to a library. Sign-up is free and to the right! (If you’re on a mobile device, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find it.)

Friends, my annual Christmas poem tradition lives on! What started as a creative whim in 1982—back in my early days of stay-at-home-mommy-hood—has turned into a tradition of thirty-five years now! Wow, huh?

After receiving that first poem with their Christmas card in 1982, my parents requested another poem the next Christmas. And what kind of self-respecting daughter can turn down a request like that? Of course, once it happened twice, it took on a life of its own and the annual Christmas poem tradition was born.

I have so enjoyed being able to share these poems with friends and family over the years. I’m always blown away by God’s faithfulness to supply the idea for a new poem each year and how he helps me find just the right word or phrase to best express the message. I pray that God will use this year’s poem to touch your heart in a special way.

By the way, I’ll be taking a holly jolly blogging break until after the first of the year. May all the blessings of Christmas and the New Year be yours, my friends. I’ll see you back here on January 2!

Touching Baby Jesus

Close your eyes and journey back
To history’s most holy night,
Imagine the Babe that changed the world
Imagine those drawn to his light.

His parents the first to look on his face
The first to touch the divine,
The first to kiss his tiny cheek
To see his glory shine.

The animals sharing the stable that night
Must have watched the miracle birth,
They must have drawn near to nuzzle the Babe
To touch heaven come to earth.

The shepherds, the first to hear the news,
Arrived breathless in wonder and joy,
With tender touch they must have reached out
To this Savior, this baby boy.

Now it’s your turn to approach the manger
Jesus is calling, “Will you draw close?”
How will you answer, what will you do,
Reach out and touch—he’ll be reaching to you.

—Cheryl, 2017

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV

*What will you do to draw close to Jesus this Christmas season?

*Have you subscribed yet to Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue? If not, sign-up is FREE and to the right! (If you’re on a mobile device, just scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find it.)

Whether dealing with the normal daily stresses of life or additional major stresses, we all need ways that can help us step back for a few minutes and intentionally put that stress on a back-burner. If we do that often enough, we may find our overall feelings of stress diminishing as we learn to better cope with them day by day.

May the stress-busting strategies below come in handy in November when you find yourself in need of refreshment and relief. Be blessed, friends!

November Stress-Busters

Take a few minutes to watch the leaves fall from the trees and dance their way to the ground. As you watch them float gently down, imagine your stress falling from your head, your shoulders, your arms, your hands, your legs, and your feet in the same way. Consciously relax your body.

Before going to bed each night, jot down at least one thing that happened that day for which you’re thankful. Gratitude has a way of changing our perspective and lessening the worries of the day. By the end of the month, you may decide to keep a gratitude list or journal year-round.

As you begin thinking ahead to Christmas, decide on at least two ways you can simplify your life or the celebration of the season in the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. If you can go beyond making two changes, wonderful. Anything you can do to ease the increased demand of the holiday season will be well worth it.

Enjoy some Thanksgiving nostalgia. Recall and share with family or friends some of your memories of childhood Thanksgivings. Welcome and listen to others’ stories as well. End by sharing your most memorable Thanksgiving whether long past or fairly recent. Let the comfort of past joys soothe your spirit today.

Head outside for some impromptu physical activity. Get in a little leaf-raking therapy or go on your own little turkey trot around the neighborhood. Or you might grab some loved ones and challenge them to a quick game of basketball or touch football. Let your adrenaline pump that stress right out of your mind and body.

Reach out to someone hurting or in need and in the process watch your stresses fade into the background. No question about it—you will be blessed as you bless someone else.

Simplify at the end of a busy day and have breakfast for dinner. Set aside an evening of time-intensive dinner prep and cleanup and fix pancakes and bacon or scrambled eggs and sausage instead. You’ll still enjoy a hot meal with a touch of comfort to boot.

Add to these November stress-busters the ultimate stress-buster of dropping your burdens at the feet of Jesus and peace will be your portion this month rather than worry. Can’t beat a trade like that!

“‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’” Matthew 11:28

*Share with us—tell about your most memorable Thanksgiving or mention what you’re thankful for today. We’ll all be blessed!

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, came out last week. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right! (If you’re on a mobile device, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find it.)

Mother of the Bride, if the soon-to-be Mr. & Mrs. in your life would like to have a ring bearer and flower girl in their wedding party, why not double the cute factor and have two ring bearers and/or two flower girls? This may not be possible given the members of yours and the groom’s families or friends, but if it is, having two of each serve in these roles is definitely guaranteed to up the cuteness factor during the wedding and also add to the precious memories of the day.

The ring bearers featured here today just happen to be my first set of twin grandsons. They served as ring bearers at my nephew’s wedding this summer. How could I not share this idea and these photos with you? No self-respecting grandma in the world would miss such an opportunity, right?

Isaiah and James were just 2 ½ years old at the time of the wedding, but they did great. Mommy and Daddy made sure they got scooted off down the aisle at the appropriate time, and I was stationed up near the front with fruit snacks—the promised treat they would get if they took the pillows down the aisle and gave them to their cousin Cody. As soon as they accomplished their task, they came and sat with me. No need to have them at the front any longer than necessary, getting squirmy and doing who knows what. Ha! (And yes, two flower girls also added to the festivities.)

Precious memories were made and adorable photos captured. Why not ask your sweet girl and her guy if they’d like to double the cute factor at their wedding? Just make sure Grandma has fruit snacks at the ready!

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early November. One lucky subscriber (new or current) will receive $15 gift card to Barnes & Noble and a signed copy of my book to use personally, give as a gift, or donate to a library. Sign-up is free and to the right! (If you’re on a mobile device, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find it.)

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Meet Cheryl

Faith. Family. Friends. Serving God. All of these things are important to me. Being a writer is one of the ways I live out my faith and serve the One who first loved me. My prayer is that you will be refreshed as you join me on my journey. Read More…